If You See Something, Say Something!

With some of the terrible things happening in our country right now and even worse the fight for solutions, it appears it is time for our citizenry to band together to solve our immediate issues and remember to police ourselves for the benefit of us.

Our society has long shared an opinion that with age comes knowledge. I always told my kids to not do what I did to learn my lesson, just listen to me and you’ll save a lot of heartache. While some of us can learn from others mistakes, there are also those of us that have to learn from experience.

On September 12, 2001, after a dark time with the attack on the Twin Towers, New York Advertising Exec Allen Kay invented the phrase based on the World War II jingle “Loose Lips Sink Ships.” By 2002, others came up with phrases like “Be suspicious of things that look suspicious.” The MTA of New York adopted the “If you see something, say something” for city buses and subways. Since then, it has run rampant among agencies to spread the word to make the public aware of things that seem out of order.

In July 2010, the Department of Homeland Security launched a national “If You See Something, Say Something®” campaign – a simple and effective program to raise public awareness of indicators of terrorism and terrorism-related crime, and to emphasize the importance of reporting suspicious activity to the proper state and local law enforcement authorities.

With more and more school involved incidents, the time is now to “question what looks questionable.” It doesn’t matter what you see or where you see it, tell someone else so word can get out. If it is nothing, no worries. If it is something, it may save someone from having to deal with a loss. While not all “suspicious activity” is created equal, when someone is acting out of the norm, chances are something is wrong. You may be a friend to help them but you may also be a friend to turn them in. As you travel through the county, keep your eyes open for those suspicious events and if they are questionable, Say Something!